Transportation News & Views

Reader agrees that U2 bus shuttle was rough ride

In a post yesterday I wrote that the bus shuttle from the U2 show at the Rose Bowl on Sunday night was a very mixed bag. Getting to the concert was fine; waiting in the ridiculously disorganized line in fenced corrals to travel from the Rose Bowl to Pasadena City College had a refugee camp feel to it. (I’ve heard no complaints from readers about Metro’s late night rail service — if you’ve got a gripe email me at thesource@metro.net).

And the journey took more than 90 minutes. I happen to like the Rose Bowl and think it’s a shame that an NFL team isn’t playing there. But it often felt Sunday night that the stadium had never hosted a big event before. I had to wait 30 minutes just to go through the stadium tunnel to my seats because stadium staff couldn’t move people along.

Source reader Christopher MacKechnie agreed with me. In an email he wrote:

Personally, I found the whole shuttle system at the U2 concert very

poorly planned. At Pasadena College Lot 4 I found the attendants

unhelpful and surly. I found the parking and shuttle cost outrageous –

I am paying more money to go through a refugee-like gauntlet line for an

hour before I go home? The PCC line had spaces for 6 buses (I think)

there simultaneously. Assuming every bus is there for 2 minutes, and

the round trip running time from the Rose Bowl to the PCC is 40 minutes,

I estimate 240 buses should have been provided on the PCC shuttle line after

the game to carry a total of 180 buses per hour * 60 passengers per bus =

10,800 passengers per hour, which I believe to be the most efficient bus situation

possible given the setup at the Rose Bowl. But not only did they not have nearly that

many buses, but they also didn’t load them as fully as they could. My friend and I

are exceedingly unlikely to go see another concert at the Rose Bowl given this

situation, but if we were we would pay the $60 for preferred parking.

It’s unfortunate Metro couldn’t have gotten involved with the bus

situation as well, since they not only have the equipment but also have

a lot of expertise in bus operations. I am considering writing a letter